Shocking affair at Derby
In 1868 Mr. Thomas Worthington – a renowned and famous ‘star diver’ – made his appearance at the Derby Gala for his advertised dive from 120 feet. Known for his diving prowess it was expected that all would run smoothly – however this stunt was to prove fatal.
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Worthington captured the imagination of the public the year before when he dived from a height of 130 feet off the East Pier in Brighton. Witnessed by the King of Belgium, who in turn granted permission for the act to be performed in his home country, Worthington then proceeded to tour the United Kingdom and it was during that tour that he arrived in Derby, after extensive local promotions, to perform at the Derby Gala on May 7-9, 1868.
The advertised highlight of his performance was to be a dive from 120ft.
A large crowd gathered in a field on the banks of the Derwent between Derby and Darley Grove and the entertainment began from 2.20pm on May 7. Worthington, who was aged around 23, arrived at his appointed time and, in the build up to his dive, he performed a series of underwater feats including drinking milk from a bottle, peeling and eating an orange and blowing a trumpet.
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At about 4.15pm Worthington began his ascent up the scaffold that had been erected and once he reached the top, he waived his handkerchief at the crowd and jumped.
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Contemporary newspaper reports stated that he had turned one somersault and was attempting to turn another when he hit the water hard and on his side. Though cries of ‘it’s killed him’ were heard from the crowd, minutes passed as people waited for him to reappear at the surface of the water. With a few people jumping into the river in an attempt to find and rescue Worthington, it was a Joseph Smith of Little Eaton, who, on his second attempt, found him and brought him to the surface.
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Worthington’s body was placed in a boat and taken to a tent where four local medical men, who had been visiting the Gala, attempted to resuscitate him but their efforts were in vain.
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The crowd were, of course, in shock and the death was made all the more tragic because his parents and two brothers were at the event and witnessed the fatal jump.
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An inquest into the death was held where the coroner returned a verdict of accidentally drowned and lamented that ‘it was much to be regretted that there were persons ready to risk their lives in performances of this kind’.